


Tipping the Scales

by Shi_Toyu



Series: The FrostIron Collection [17]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Ending, Avenger Loki, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mermaids, Non-Avenger Tony, Racism, Under the Sea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-29 12:44:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5128100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony hated ship wrecks, especially when they occurred in the middle of the ocean. The huge, twisted, smoking hunk of metal that had just broken the surface wasn’t even a boat. It was some sort of plane, but not the usual ones he would see flying overhead. The scent of blood reached him in moments and he cursed silently. It wouldn’t be long before the circling started.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! So, obviously, there are going to be a lot of references to aquatic life in here. I'll try to explain everything in-text but I will provide links in the end notes as well for anyone confused or who just is interested in learning more!

Tony hated ship wrecks, especially when they occurred in the middle of the ocean. The huge, twisted, smoking hunk of metal that had just broken the surface wasn't even a boat. It was some sort of plane, but not the usual ones he would see flying overhead. The scent of blood reached him in moments and he cursed silently. It wouldn't be long before the circling started.

Tony swept his tail from side to side in broad, strong strokes that sent him shooting through the water and toward the remains of the aircraft. His whip-like tail fin trailed behind him, a dangerous warning to other predators. This was shortfin mako territory, though, and they wouldn't be held off for long. As impressive as it was that they could go for months at a time without food, the sharks flew into a feeding frenzy as soon as food was available again. If Tony couldn't get whoever was in that aircraft to safety soon, they'd make a tasty snack.

The glass of the cockpit was cracked, spider-webbing across so tightly that he couldn't see the other side. He gave it a shove with both hands but it held strong. He cursed again. Of course these humans had to use reinforced glass for this particular craft. The two shorter fins that extended on either side from just above his hips twitched in irritation. Tony rearranged the satchel slung across his body and moved to the door at the side of the craft. He'd barely reached it when the entire thing was blown straight off its hinges to shoot out across the depths. Tony blinked.

In the doorway, foot still raised from kicking out the door, was a human male with short-cut blonde hair. His clothes were tight but looked thick and had a white star emblazoned upon the chest. Some sort of breathing apparatus covered the lower half of his face and goggles were over his eyes. He also looked just as surprised to see Tony as Tony was to see him. He made some sort of noise in exclamation, but humans weren't designed for underwater communication and it was lost before there was ever a hope of Tony getting the message.

"We need to move," Tony said instead. "The mako will be here any moment. It is not safe for you. It is not safe for anyone."

He pointed away into the darkness of the water, toward the city of his people. They would be safe there. The human just looked confused, though, and squinted in that direction. Moments later, another human popped up behind him. This one also wore a mask to breath but had long, black hair that drifted in the current like the tendrils of a jellyfish and piercing green eyes. The newcomer felt different, somehow, though Tony couldn't quite put his finger on it. He watched as the man pulled the mask away from his mouth to speak.

"Repeat yourself. They cannot understand you and I could not hear you from where I was."

Tony perked up. It would make things worlds easier if there was one among them who could actually understand him.

"It's not safe here. We need to move before the mako swarm. How many of there are you? How many are hurt?"

"Only one," the man answered his last question first, "but there are six of us in total and only three will be able to keep up with any competence."

Tony winced, glancing around them.

"Then we do the best we can. Where is your injured?"

The man eyed him for a long moment before replacing his mask and speaking to the blonde over what could only be a com unit. Tony was honestly surprised it still worked under these conditions. Then they were both moving to the side as another blond, this time with longer hair and even more muscles, floated forward carrying a woman clad entirely in black leather. Even in the water, the blood clung to her face and hair. The man holding her pulled his mask away as soon as he was close.

"She was in the cockpit when we were struck. She will need medical attention."

Tony nodded, running a critical eye over her.

"That can be arranged. Here, let me take her. Whichever of you are the better swimmers, help those who aren't. If this turns into a chase, we're as good as dead. The mako aren't to be outrun and I won't be able to fight off more than a couple of them at a time."

The black haired man and the blond exchanged a glance before the human female was passed over. Tony moved away a bit with her in his arms so the others could exit the craft, two more human males exiting behind them.

"Let's get moving."

He swam toward his city, knowing it would be the closest safe place, and prayed they would get there in time. He would catch Hell for bringing in outsiders, sure, but it wasn't like he couldn't handle the heat. Besides, he couldn't just leave them to die. If nothing else, Pepper would agree with him on that. Much to his surprise and pleasure, all three of the men he'd interacted with in the doorway were able to keep up with him just fine. The short-haired blond struggled but it was well-enough. Their other two companions were being pulled along by the ones who had known Tony's language. They did as well as anyone could expect with the horribly streamlined, two legged form of a human.

Nearly a full minute passed with them zipping through the water before something brushed against the red scales of Tony's tail. He jerked away, twisting in the water and snapping his razor-sharp teeth aggressively. His eyes fell on the smaller man with bare arms whose hand was still extended toward where he had been. The black haired man smacked his companion over the side of the head before pulling aside his own mask.

"My apologies. We don't keep Clint around for his brains. You have my word he won't touch you again."

"See that he doesn't."

Disturbed but trying not to show it, Tony turned to swim on. He hated it when people touched his tail. _Hated_ it. Among his people it was a sign of close affection but growing up only Jarvis and Obie had shown such affection for him. Now they were both dead, Obie by Tony's own hand. He could tolerate the gesture from Rhodey or Pepper, but only just. There was no way he was going to tolerate it from a stranger. At least the human had touched him on his thick, main tail and not his pelvic fins. Those were much more sensitive.

The last time someone had touched Tony's pelvic fics had been before that whole debacle with the Ten Rings. That was just sad. He should find someone, go to a party and pick up some random tail to have a fun night with. Except, he wanted desperately to rub at the arc reactor embedded in his chest, there were reasons why he didn't do that anymore. He shifted the woman in his arms a bit, casting a glance over his shoulder to check on the group following him. Behind them, dark shadows moved at the edge of the blackness. Tony cursed.

"Fuckin' party crashers." He slowed just enough to draw level with the black-haired human with the green eyes. He sent the woman floating over. "Keep heading straight. Help will find you." His eyes darted over his shoulder. "I'll handle this."

Hopefully, if miracles really did exist, he might also survive long enough for back up to get there. That was, of course, if back up even bothered to come. It was entirely possible that they might decide the mako were too dangerous to deal with, especially if the sharks were in high numbers. Turning around in a maneuver a human never would have managed to pull off, Tony headed back the way they'd come. He charged the incoming sharks at top speed, stopping on a dime just as their images started to take more solid shape. His tail flew forward, cracking like a whip across the nose of the first shark.

It was an attack meant to stun but not to kill. Tony usually only used it for hunting fish. He really wished he'd brought his armor with him. He might actually stand a chance then. Tony twisted to get underneath the belly of another of the makos, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh there and giving the other sharks an extra, fresher target. He wasn't quite fast enough getting away, though, and another shark caught his arm at the elbow, yanking him through the water and slicing in deep. Tony sank his own teeth into the shark's nose, knowing the sensitive pores there would scream out in protest.

Fucking Hell, but that hurt like a bitch. Tony cradled his arm close to his body, hoping it was a wound he'd actually be able to heal from but knowing the chances of such were slim at best. The water all around him was turning red with blood, obscuring his vision if he stopped moving for even a second. He could taste it heavy on his tongue with every breath. There was no way he'd make it long enough for back up to arrive. Tony hoped, at least, that the humans would be found in time to live.

A flash of green lit up the water behind him and Tony spun in place, staring in wide-eyed wonder at the mako shark that had just been blasted out of the way. Barely ten feet away, the black-haired human grinned at him from behind his mask before turning and blasting another shark with what could only be magic. Past him, the one with long blond hair was using a hammer to drive the sharks off. Tony felt the smile grow on his lips as his pelvic fins twitched with the surge of adrenalin pulsing through him. He rejoined the fight heartily, darting between sharks and distracting them to make them easier targets.

It was a dangerous job, but not one he was unprepared for. He was able to avoid any additional injuries past a few glancing nips for several long minutes before an evasive maneuver sent him straight into one of the tails belonging to one of the powerful predators. It turned before Tony could even blink and sank its teeth into his side. He gasped, nearly gagging on all the blood in the water, and the gills along his ribs worked frantically. At least two of his three gills on the left side had been torn to shreds.

Tony barely registered the action when the shark was sliced cleanly in two by more green magic but he definitely noticed the lessening on pressure on his side. The black haired man was beside him in moments, pulling the sharks jaws apart and casting the carcass aside. Tony gasped for water, his body trying desperately to process it with his decreased ability to function. His gaze met emerald eyes and held there, transfixed.

"I just wanted to help," he managed, just before the darkness of unconsciousness consumed him.

.

..

…

..

.

The first thing Tony noticed upon waking up was that the water didn't taste right. It was lighter, crisper than he was used to and that was just strange. The second thing he noticed was even stranger. He wasn't in any pain. He blinked his eyes open, immediately looking down at his arm and stomach. The skin and scales that he knew had been ripped apart were now flawless. There was a bit of redness around where he knew the shark's teeth had sunk into him, but that was it. As if that wasn't odd enough, he really shouldn't be able to see so clearly. The only place he'd ever been able to see things this clearly was in certain tropical waters.

A dull tapping noise drew Tony's off to the side where a human in a white coat smiled at him before jotting something down on a clipboard. What was most alarming about the whole situation was the fact that there was a glass wall between them. Twisting around, Tony could tell there was glass surrounding him on every side. A ladder led up the side of the tank to the metal seal at the top. Several small tubes were attached at various points, pumping in and pulling out water to keep it fresh. The fact that they clearly wanted him to stay alive did nothing to quell the panic that bubbled up within him. The entire tank was no more than ten feet wide and ten feet tall at its widest points. His tail had to curl to the side just so he would fit.

He would hear a beeping noise from the other side of the glass that was quickly picking up in speed. The humans in white coats seemed alarmed by the sounds and began darting back and forth, yelling at each other. Tony could barely spare any brainpower on them as he tried to keep his heartrate under control. Memories of his time with the Ten Rings ran rampant through his mind. Being captured, being confined, it was everything that haunted him at night. The shriek of metal-on-metal was the only warning he got before there was a huge splash of someone entering the tank with him.

Tony pressed himself against the glass as the bubbles cleared to reveal the black haired man from the crash. His green eyes found Tony and he reached a hand out toward him. Tony only pressed himself back further, the spines down his back folding closer to this skin. He bared his teeth at the intruder.

"Are you alright?"

"What do you want from me?"

The man looked surprised.

"Nothing. You were injured quite severely trying to help us. We simply wanted to return the favor. Dr. Cho's techniques for regenerating tissue are unparalleled."

Tony still didn't take the hand extended toward him.

"When can I leave?"

The hand was withdrawn and the man ducked up briefly to take a breath of air before coming back down.

"We didn't mean to frighten you. It's just that Dr. Cho has never worked with someone of your…species before." A pause for another breath. "She wanted to make sure the treatment would actually work."

"We generally try to avoid interactions with humans if we can." He wrinkled his nose. "Historically, you don't react very well."

The man laughed.

"Then I suppose it's a good thing I'm not human then, isn't it?" He swept a bow as best he could while immersed in the water. "I am Loki, of Asgard. I am one of the Jotunar by birth, though."

He swam upwards again to catch a breath and Tony gestured for him to continue. He followed Loki to the surface and popped his head up above the water, too.

"Can you understand me like this, too?"

Tony's words were pitched higher, with longer notes for each syllable. It was similar to a dolphin, he supposed, to most human ears. Underwater his people sounded more like whales. Loki's lips quirked upward in a smirk.

"I can understand you any way you speak, one of the gifts of the Aesir." Loki didn't sound particularly happy about it. "What's your name?"

Tony let himself sink just a little bit until the water covered his nose. He gazed at Loki for a long moment before surfacing again.

"Tony. Tony Stark."

Loki grinned at him.

"Well met, Tony Stark. Dr. Cho tells me that your DNA is unlike any yet known humanoid they have samples of, including the ones I have brought her from other worlds. She had to call in a consultant."

Tony wasn't entirely sure he was comfortable with this line of talk.

"What did you find out?"

If they were going to experiment on him or something he'd rather have all the information he could.

"I can see the worry on your face, but you needn't. They needed to look at and understand your DNA in order for Dr. Cho to be able to calibrate her machines correctly. She usually only works with people, though, so she called in Dr. Clerkin. He's a rather famous marine biologist with a specialization in sharks. He's discovered over two dozen new species of shark in the past couple of years."

"Yeah, well, the last time I woke up stuck in a tank my hosts weren't all that…accommodating. So forgive me if I don't take your placations at face value."

Loki's eyebrows rose, actually looking alarmed. Those emerald eyes darted over Tony's form as through looking for injury. Tony supposed he didn't need to look much farther than the arc reactor in his chest, Tony's souvenir from his last stint in captivity. Loki's lips pinched tight at the corners in what was clearly displeasure.

"Excuse me for a moment, if you would."

He was out of the tank and climbing down the ladder along the side before Tony could even react. At least he'd left the lid of the tank open.

.

..

…

..

.

"I hope you can forgive us for the delay. Dr. Clerkin was insistent that we get you back into salt water. Apparently that isn't something easy to obtain in such…quantities. "

Tony couldn't stop staring out at the behemoth of a pool they had moved him to. There were even patches of coral and seaweed, rocks, and islands breaking up the environment. He hadn't really looked around but he was pretty sure he could see the top of a ship mast poking out from near the other side of the room. Loki sat at the end of a pier extended over the water, his bare feet hanging over the edge to dip in the water and his pants rolled up to his knees.

"Where did-How-What is this place?"

Loki grinned.

"It was the training area for the Avengers, our team. I terraformed it to better suit your needs."

Tony twisted around to look at him again instead of out over the water. The tip of his crimson-scaled tail brushed against the actual sand that covered the pool's bottom. It wasn't the ocean, didn't have quite the same flavor, but damn if it wasn't close.

"It hasn't even been two hours."

Loki wiggled his fingers in the genius's direction, swirls of green flowing around his hand.

"I'm _quite_ talented."

If it were anyone else Tony would make a quip about how they were apparently also modest but, really, in the face of things? Loki deserved the brag however much he damn well pleased.

"Magic?" Tony's nose wrinkled a bit. "I'm more for science, but…definitely impressive."

Loki looked smug, but also a bit surprised.

"You are a scientist?"

"Engineering, chemistry, physics, all that good stuff. My people are very good at that sort of thing," he shot Loki a sideways look, "and I'm the best. I just wish I could get you back in my lab. I haven't encountered a lot of magic users before and only one that so much as even approached your level from what I've seen so far. I'd love to be able to get some scans."

Loki frowned and cocked his head to the side in a thoughtful manner.

"We have kept you against your will, though it was with the best of intentions. I suppose a few scans would be agreeable. I have always had a love of learning about other cultures, though, and would enjoy learning of yours as well."

Tony winced.

"Sorry, that's, uh, not gonna be possible. Even taking you guys to the city to save your lives was going to get me in a ton of trouble. Showing up with an outsider…it's not good."

Loki nodded.

"You've been burnt before."

"There's a reason there are only enough of us to populate one city, the few outlying factions not withstanding." Tony turned his gaze out over the water again, not really seeing the landscaping anymore. "We used to have settlements all throughout the seas. That was years ago, centuries. Before the Golden Ones showed up. With our numbers so dwindled it became easier for the others of the sea to pick us off even more. Sharks, giant squids, the creatures far more dangerous than those…It is forbidden to the leave the city alone."

"And yet you were alone when you came to our aid and it would have been bad news for us if you hadn't."

Tony shrugged.

"I'm not generally one for following the rules. I needed to go out and get some materials for a project. If I waited for _permission_ I wouldn't have gotten any of it for months. I didn't have that kind of time to spare."

"Ah, that reminds me." Loki reached around behind him to lift a shoulder bag off of the dock. He held it out to Tony. "I believe this is yours."

Tony grabbed at the bag excitedly.

"My things!" His gaze darted down and to the side, unable to look at Loki. He'd have to wait for the man to leave before he could activate the tracker he always carried with him. "Thank you. For everything."

"I assure you, the pleasure is mine."

.

..

…

..

.

Loki made surprisingly excellent company. He visited Tony often over the three days the genius had been in the human compound. They talked about all sorts of things. Tony was extremely interested in the science that humans had been coming up with, though none of their technology seemed able to rival that of his own species. With a few exceptions, of course. They spoke of Loki's team and the various villains they fought. Loki seemed to have a particular distaste for a dictator known as Dr. Doom. Tony thought it was a ridiculous name to start with.

Loki didn't speak much of his childhood and neither did Tony, but they each expressed enough for the other to know it hadn't been pleasant. Tony told Loki about JARVIS instead, and about Pepper and Rhodey. He spoke of his three electric eel hybrid helper bots who often made more of a mess than they actually helped. Loki seemed fascinated by every word, speaking in turn of his own magic and the various masters he had studied under. They talked for hours, only ever pausing when Loki went to go fetch something or someone else came in to join the conversation.

Dr. Cho and Dr. "Please, call me Paul" Clerkin had visited as well, along with the other Avengers. They weren't so bad, Tony supposed. In another world, perhaps, Tony could even see them all being friends. The whole super hero thing threw him for a bit of a loop but, hey, he wore a suit of armor so who was he to judge? Unfortunately, he would have to return to the city sooner rather than later. He was pushing it already, he knew. Rhodey would be coming for him.

"When can I go?" he asked when Dr. Cho and Paul came for his next check-up, Loki not budging from his perch on the dock.

"Ideally," Dr. Cho bit her lip, "I'd like to continue observing you for at least another week. This is just such uncharted territory. I understand you need to be getting back, though. I'm sure you're being missed at home. Perhaps just one more day? There's no way you'd agree to meet at a particular place in, say, a month's time is there? So I could check and make sure everything is holding steady?"

Tony cracked a wry grin at her.

"Yeah…I'm gonna be put on lock down the second I turn back up. They're not gonna let me out of their sight for _ages._ " He chuckled. "Especially Pepper. She's gonna be pissed. She does this thing when she gets mad, puffs out and flexes her quills. It's terrifying, I assure you."

"I'd just hate to send you back and have something go wrong." He was touched by how genuinely worried she sounded. "If you start having any complications you must send word to us, okay? We'll meet you on whatever terms we have to but you need to promise me you'll get in touch."

"I promise," Tony said with a smile.

She didn't have to know he was lying through his teeth. It was all just as well, anyway, since only a few hours later Rhodey was busting through the roof in the War Hammer armor and scooping Tony out of the water without even bothering with his usual taunts to the enemy. It was only thanks to Loki throwing up a wall of magic just in time that Rhodey didn't manage to blow the entire place sky high.

.

..

…

..

.

"I said I was fine," Tony groused as he batted the hands away from himself. "I've been poked and prodded enough in the past few days. I don't need it here, too."

The doctor looked skeptical, but backed off anyway. That might have been more to do with Tony flashing his teeth, though, than the doctor actually giving him the all-clear. Rhodey floated in the water off to one side, arms crossed in front of him and tail flicking with agitation.

"I should go back and flay them alive," he growled. "And you! What were you thinking going off on your own like that, Tones? Were the Ten Rings not enough for you?"

"You should do no such thing," Tony growled right back. "You have no idea what happened. They were only trying to help."

"Right." Rhodey snorted. "By kidnapping you."

"They didn't kidnap me!" Tony thundered, rage boiling over. Most days he was glad for Rhodey's protective streak, relieved by the confirmation that the other really did care about him, but right now he was just irritated by it. "They crashed and Natasha got hurt and there were makos in the area. I couldn't let them get killed."

"And then they asked if maybe you'd like to sleep over? Well, guess what, Tones? You forgot to call Mom and Dad before you ran off with those killers!"

"Okay, first of all, that analogy is so wrong I'm not even going to touch it. Second, that's now how it happened!"

"Then you better tell me how it _did_ happen because it seems like all I'm hearing from you is a whole lot of denials and not a lot of explanation."

Tony ran a hand through his hair before dragging it over his face. He hated talking about his injuries, especially with Rhodey.

"I may have, possibly, gotten a little bit hurt while trying to get them away from the area."

Rhodey arched one dark brow.

"A little bit?"

Tony scowled.

"The mako caught up with us and I got bitten. They got me on my arm and on my side." Rhodey's face looked stricken and Tony hurried to continue before he could interrupt. "The humans took me with them so they could _heal_ me. Look," he held out his arms and spun around to put himself on display. "Do you see any scars? They've got this machine that regenerates tissue and Dr. Cho even let me look at the specs of it. I'm betting I can absolutely recreate it out of our material. Can't use land materials, of course, they couldn't withstand the environment. Not to mention-"

"Tony," Rhodey cut him off. He came closer, settled a hand on the genius's shoulder. "They didn't hurt you? At all? It's okay if they did. You can tell me. I know after…after the Ten Rings I didn't react as well as I could have. I should have been there for you more and I'm so sorry for that but never doubt that I love you, okay? I've got your back."

"I'm flattered, Rhodey, really, but I'm afraid I-"

"Tony."

"Yeah. You, too."

There was a long silence between them before Rhodey finally spoke again.

"You're really okay?"

"Yeah, Rhodey. They were…nice. I liked them. I-" He cut himself off, pausing. "Do you ever wish things were different? That we weren't so…isolated?"

"Don't." Rhodey's tone of voice left no room for argument. "Don't even go there. You got _lucky_ , Tones. Okay? This time. Just because they didn't hurt you doesn't mean they weren't going to or that every other one of those legged savages wouldn't jump at the chance to cut you open and see what was inside. We're better off here, together, where we can protect each other."

Tony looked away.

"Is Pepper mad?"

"Furious." He could hear the grin in Rhodey's voice. "But she's also been worried sick. We're glad to have you back, Tones."

"Yeah," he said halfheartedly, unable to say whether or not he truly meant the words. "Me too."

.

..

…

..

.

Tony locked himself away in his lab as soon as physically possible. It was like everything that anyone did was suddenly irritating to him. Even Happy, who was just about the mildest person he'd ever met. He ate and slept only when it became absolutely necessary, left only to perform updates and maintenance on the security features that protected New Atlantis, the city he called home. With half a dozen guards watching his back as well as his every move it was the most inter-personal connection he had in the two months he'd been back. Even Pepper had stopped trying to get him to go to the company meetings.

He didn't remember feeling this dissatisfied before. Before the Ten Rings his life had been all about finding out exactly how shallow a deep sea creature could be. Sex, parties, mingling with the jellyfish, Tony had done it all. Then he'd been taken by the Ten Rings and betrayed by Obie. His entire life had been turned upside down so he'd turned right with it, gone from a party animal to a public defender practically overnight. He'd built the first Iron Thresher armor and never looked back. Things had been good, been awesome even…all the way up until he'd been shown that there was even more potential in the world than he'd believed.

Loki and the others had been so…vibrant. Tony loved his friends, truly, but there was always a disconnect. Rhodey had to balance his friendship with Tony against his obligations to the Guard. Pepper and Happy were both on his payroll, Pepper always exasperated with him. They'd always been there for Tony when he needed them and he'd never doubted their affection. It was just that the surface dwellers hadn't had any obligation to him. There was no reason for them not to treat him like an experiment and a captive and yet they'd gone out of their way in order to make sure he was comfortable. Loki had spent hours just sitting and conversing with him, discussing science and magic and strategy. They'd stayed carefully clear of culture and anything that could lead to something Tony couldn't reveal.

Even though Tony had known it had to end eventually, that hadn't stopped him from getting attached. It was a problem he'd encountered many a time over the years and it always ended the same way. Tony never got to keep the things he was attached to. His parents, Jarvis, Obie, he'd lost all of them. Even though he'd constantly told himself it was only temporary his heart, the one no one seemed to believe Tony had, still hoped. He cursed and lashed his tail back and forth with irritation.

"Sir, if I may."

Tony pouted for only a moment before letting his shoulders droop.

"Go ahead, J."

"According to my observations over the last couple of months, something seems to be causing you a great amount of distress. While I have witnessed efforts by Ms. Potts to get you to talk about it you have refused to."

"There better be a point in there somewhere and you better get to it fast."

"I only wished to inquire if you might be willing to tell me. I desire only to be of assistance."

Tony smiled sadly.

"I don't think that's going to be something you can manage here, buddy. Nothing to be done."

There was a moment of silence, enough for Tony to actually glance over at the upper corner of the ceiling where JARVIS's main circuits were for this room.

"Forgive me for saying, Sir, but it appears you have a malfunction. You are giving up without appearing to try in the slightest."

Tony's tail flicked again.

"Don't get sassy with your dry humor, JARV. I don't appreciate it. And there's no point in trying to achieve something you're never gonna get." His voice dropped, his shoulders slumping. "No point wishing for something you can't have."

When JARVIS spoke again, his tone had softened.

"What happened, Sir? What happened while you were with the humans?"

Emerald green eyes and a wry smirk flashed through Tony's mind.

.

..

…

..

.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link time! I used wikipedia for the two shark links just because it would give a more concise, easy description but there are a ton of cool sites out there!
> 
> The shortfin mako shark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortfin_mako_shark
> 
> Tony's main inspiration, the thresher shark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thresher_shark
> 
> The amazing and stunningly wonderful Paul Clerkin: http://pauljclerkin.com/
> 
> Basic shark anatomy: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/anatomy/
> 
> I am hoping to do some sketches to show how each character will look with their aquatic nature but I would LOVE to pair up with someone who can actually draw in order to get a better end result. If anyone is interested, or would just like to do their own rendition, just let me know! I would be more than happy to compensate in the form of fic.
> 
> Also, SUPER IMPORTANT! This fic has two alternative endings and I will be posting them as individual chapters. They will all branch off from this point, though.


	2. Alternate Ending #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miscommunication!

 

“Sir, something has triggered the surface proximity alerts. The same vessel has been detected in the area for the past four days.”

Tony’s head shot up at JARVIS’s words.

“What’re the stats? Is it a combat vessel?”

“It does not appear so, Sir. It seems to be a smaller vessel, only enough room for a handful of passengers at most.”

Tony frowned.

“A ship like that wouldn’t be able to sail this far out. It’d be a death wish.”

“That is what the scanners are indicating, Sir. Shall I contact Director Fury to send out a party to investigate?”

Tony entertained that idea for less than half a second.

“No. No, I’ll check it out myself. Prepare the suit.”

“Sir, might I remind you that you have been forbidden from leaving the city unaccompanied? The perimeter sensors will alert SHIELD the moment you pass by them.”

Tony scoffed even as the armor formed around him.

“We designed those sensors, J. Think maybe you could use that famous charm of yours to talk them into turning a blind eye?”

“As ever, Sir, I must remind you that as an artificial lifeform I do not actually have any of this ‘charm’ you speak of. It would however be a simple thing for me to access the programing and disable them momentarily.”

“You’re the best, J!”

He was out of his workshop and heading toward the surface in moments. It wouldn’t take long for him to get there. The trickiest part of getting out of the city was making sure that none of the guards saw him. There weren’t many actual guards on patrol anymore, though. With the systems that Howard had created initially and Tony had improved over the years they just weren’t necessary. He was staring up at the underside of the ship JARVIS had identified in less than five minutes.

“Huh. It is pretty small. What do you think, J? Twelve feet?”

“A sports model, if my research into human ship designs is accurate.”

Tony snorted.

“What idiot drives a ship like this out into the middle of the ocean? Repeatedly? Can you scan for heat signatures? We should be close enough now.”

There was a moment’s pause as JARVIS carried out the order.

“There is only one individual on the ship, Sir, though the heat signature is registering lower than a human should.”

Tony frowned.

“Auxiliary scans. Go. See, J? This is why it’s better for me to check these things out personally.”

“Of course, Sir. I shall compile the data momentarily.”

Tony swam a lazy circle around the boat while he waited. He was deep enough down that no one of the surface would be able to see him anyway. He kept one eye out below him for great whites looking to score a meal. Breaching wouldn’t kill him in the suit, but it sure wouldn’t be comfortable either. Besides, that kind of attack would blow his cover entirely both to whoever was on that boat and Fury.

“How’s it going, J?”

“The results are…odd, Sir. I’ve never encountered readings like this before. I am recalibrating the sensors now to check for errors.”

“What do you mean ‘odd’?”

“The individual on the ship appears to be giving off a number of different forms of energy, several of which I have been unable to identify.”

Everything clicked into place.

“Sonova-Don’t bother with the recalibration, J. I know exactly who’s on that ship.”

“One of the humans, Sir? Shall I contact Guardian Rhodes?”

“Absolutely not, buddy. Just…let me handle this.” He didn’t wait for JARVIS’s response before he folded the helmet portion of the suit back and rose up to the surface. His head popped out of the water barely three feet from the side of the boat. “Hey!” he called. “I thought I told you I wouldn’t be able to stay in contact.”

Loki appeared in moments, grinning from ear to ear.

“And yet, here you are.”

Tony scowled.

“What are you doing here, Loki?”

“Things at the Avengers Headquarters are so droll. I was hoping you might be able to provide me with a bit of intellectual conversation. I’ve rather missed our talks, I must confess.”

Tony just shook his head.

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s not allowed.”

Loki disregarded his words with a flick of his wrist.

“And yet, here I am,” he teased just a little bit more before turning serious. “How are you fairing? All healed?”

Tony debated with himself for a few seconds over just leaving before giving in. He’d missed this, too.

“Like brand new,” he admitted. “I’ve been on lock down though. This is the first time I’ve been out of the city since Rhodey came to take me back.”

“Yes. That _was_ rather alarming. I see you have a suit to match his.”

“Other way around, Lokes. The War Hammer armor was what I built to match my Iron Scales suit.”

Loki looked positively enthralled.

“You created this? You had mentioned being an inventor, but I had never expected something like this. Why did you not have it the day we met?”

Tony sighed, letting his body float up to the surface so he could bask in the sun. JARVIS would keep an eye on things below him. He turned his head to the side to gulp down some water.

“Like I told you before, that was just a routine kinda thing, just gathering some supplies. I shouldn’t have _needed_ the armor.” Loki nodded in understanding, drifting off a bit in thought. “It’s good to see you again,” Tony suddenly blurted.

Loki looked surprised but quickly followed it up with a smile.

“I should happily say the same. You are great company.”

It was Tony’s turn to smile.

“You too.”

“How long do you have? I don’t want to get you into trouble.”

“A little while. Not long, though. If Pepper notices I’m gone, it’ll cause problems but JARVIS should be able to give me a heads up if needed.”

“JARVIS? That’s the artificial intelligence you spoke of, yes?”

Loki moved around to the back of the boat, climbing onto the little ledge there and letting his legs dangle into the water. Tony barely had to twitch his tail to send himself gliding over.

“Yeah. I’d introduce you but he can’t exactly talk back at the moment. No external speakers.”

“But of course.” Loki tipped his head congenially. “Perhaps next time.”

Tony shot upward.

“There’s going to be a next time?”

He almost cursed at how hopeful he sounded but Loki just smiled.

“If you’d like there to be.”

.

..

…

..

.

“I appropriated Dr. Cho and Dr. Clerkin’s samples of your DNA,” Loki said out of the blue during their eighth meeting.

Tony cocked his head to the side.

“Yeah? Any particular reason?”

“I wanted to study it, as well as the other information they were able to gather about your physiology while you were with us.” It was amazing how those words _didn’t_ send an automatic spike of fear through Tony. “There’s something I’d like to try, but it required quite a bit of research first.”

“Magic?”

“Yes.” Loki grinned. “Magic. Would you care to see?”

Loki had shown him plenty of magic before and Tony found it endlessly fascinating every time. No way would he pass up the opportunity to see more of it.

“Show me what you got, green eyes.”

Loki grinned at him from his seat on the back of the boat as green light coated his frame. He pushed off the boat, slipping into the water as the light faded away. Tony could only gape at him. He dove under the surface to get a better look, swimming a small circle around Loki’s _fucking fins and tail_. His markings were clearly that of a mako, similar coloring to a great white but far slimmer. He was _stunning_. Loki sank a bit lower so that he was under the surface as well.

“Like what you see?”

Tony’s mind reeled. He had to hold himself back from reaching out to touch. For purely scientific reasons, of course.

“How did you even…?”

Loki’s smile was easy as he drew closer. His eyes glinted in the sun filtering though the ocean’s surface. Tony shivered at the thought of those pale hands on him, fingers running over his pelvic fins. Loki had always had an attractive face, but a figure like this…Tony had slept with some of the most attractive merfolk in New Atlantis and none of them had excited him the way Loki did.

“It was but a simple thing once I was able to understand your physiology. Of course, some of it was guesswork where the internal organs were concerned, but I tried out a couple things back at the headquarters. This seemed to work best.”

“This is incredible!”

Loki drew closer still, putting them nearly chest to chest. Tony wished he weren’t wearing the armor so he could feel the other’s skin and scales against his own.

“If it’s alright,” Loki spoke with hooded eyes, “there’s something else I’d like to try, too.”

Tony swallowed convulsively, his heart pounding in his chest. He was sure Loki could hear it, it was so loud.

“What-“ he coughed to clear his throat, “what did you want to try? More magic?”

Loki hummed noncommittally.

“Not quite.” One hand reached out to stroke along Tony’s jaw. “Some may think of it that way, though.”

“Oh?”

Tony felt like his brain had short circuited. It seemed to only amuse Loki further.

“Perhaps I should just show you?”

Tony could only make a vague noise of agreement, his voice stuck in his throat. Loki drew impossibly closer, the current stirred up by his fins ghosted across Tony’s body and he felt frozen in place. Lips pressed softly against his own, just a hint of pressure before Loki pulled away again. Tony blinked at him, one hand rising to touch his own lips. His brow wrinkled in confusion, his nose scrunching up.

“What?”

Loki flinched and drew away, suddenly looking anywhere that wasn’t Tony.

“Forgive me. I’ve clearly overstepped. I had thought-I should go.”

“Wait!” Tony shot forward, one arm shooting out to grab onto Loki’s wrist. Fear coursed through him and even though he wasn’t entirely sure what was going on there was no doubt that he’d never see Loki again if he let the green-eyed man go now. “Don’t go. I’m sorry. I just-I don’t know what that was.”

Something in Loki’s expression turned sharp as he wrenched his arm from Tony’s grasp.

“Clearly, it was a mistake.”

And then he was gone and Tony was alone.

.

..

…

..

.

Tony was actually kind of pissed off, once he got over the shock of the whole situation. The fact that he also felt hurt and confused only served to feed the flame of his irritation. He was so angry he locked himself away in his lab for three full days and completed a brand new suit of armor before he even saw anyone else. Pepper was all but hovering outside of his lab when he finally did leave.

“I’ve had enough of this, Tony! I mean it! It seemed like you were getting better for a while and then you just up and locked yourself away again. Are you dying again?”

Tony almost wished he was, faced with the prospect of either lying to Pepper or telling her he was pining over a two-legged. He could just imagine her face at the prospect.

“No, Pep. I’m fine.”

Her face made it clear that she wasn’t buying it for a second.

“And I’m a sun fish. Don’t toy with me, Tony. We’ve known each other far too long for that.” Her quills shivered a bit. “When did we reach the point where you couldn’t tell me things anymore? You used to tell me everything.”

It might have been Tony’s imagination, but it seemed like the black pupils of her eyes grew even larger than usual.

“Don’t give me that look, Pepper. You _know_ what that look does to me.”

“What look, Tony?” She sounded entirely too innocent to be believable. “I only want to know what’s wrong.”

“You wouldn’t like it if I told you, Pep. Trust me. It’s over now, anyway.”

Pepper’s bottom lip jutted forward in just a hint of a pout.

“Does this have anything to do with that human you’ve been seeing up at the surface?”

Tony gaped at her.

“What-How-“

“Oh, please. I’ve been keeping an eye on you for long enough to know how to find out what I want to know.”

“But JARVIS-“

“Has your best interests at heart. You programmed him that way, remember?”

Tony’s shocked brain finally caught up to the fact that she didn’t seem exactly angry, clearly evident by the fact that she hadn’t yet swelled to even twice her size.

“You’re not mad?”

She just gave him a flat look.

“Rhodey told me all about your conversation when he brought you back. It didn’t take much for me to put two and two together.”

Which meant she wasn’t mad at him, wasn’t going to berate him for how stupid he’d been or yell at him for being reckless. She’d listen to him, most likely, knowing Pepper. Hell, she’d probably even pull all that understanding, sympathetic crap Tony had never understood how she managed. Relief swept over him like a wave, but a crippling sadness followed shortly thereafter.

“It doesn’t matter. I won’t be seeing him again anyway.”

Pepper bristled at his tone, puffing out just a bit.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No, but I damn near wish he did! Then at least I’d know what the Hell happened. One minute things are fine, amazing even, and then I’m confused and he’s upset and just swims off!”

“Oh, come here, Tony. Drift with me. Tell me the whole thing, _with_ details.”

Tony sighed but allowed himself to float in the current and did as he was told, even going back to the days at Avengers headquarters. Pepper listened with quiet attentiveness, humming in all the right places and only asking the occasional question. By the time Tony had caught her up to speed she was behind him, scratching lightly at the base of the spines down his back. He was completely relaxed under her touch, making it all the easier to talk about what had happened.

“Well, it seems to me this was all been just one big misunderstanding.”

“Sure. I mean, that much is obvious. I just don’t know what he was thinking, much less what to do to fix it.” His gills rippled as he let out a huff of water. “It’s not like he’s coming back.”

Pepper tutted.

“So why don’t you go to him, then?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Pep.”

“Why not? What’s there to stop you?”

“Um, Fury? For one? I’m pretty sure he’s been just waiting for the perfect excuse to strangle me with one of those tentacles of his.”

Pepper rolled her eyes as she circled back to float in front of him again.

“You leave Fury to me, alright? You go do what you have to do.”

.

..

…

..

.

It was probably a good thing that JARVIS kept track of every trip any of the suits made. Tony wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to remember the way back to the Avengers base. He really hadn’t been paying that much attention when Rhodey had carted him out of there anyway. Tony pursed his lips as he hovered over the ground out front before touching down on a large rock he was pretty sure was used for training purposes. Trainees stared at him and he knew it would take no time at all for the people he really would rather deal with to show up. He slid his faceplate up as several members of the Avengers approached, revealing his face and breathing apparatus.

“Friend Stark,” Thor rumbled out a greeting. He didn’t look overly friendly. “We were not expecting you.”

“Yeah, well, doing the unexpected is kind of my forte. Is Loki here?”

Thor glowered while Natasha sent glances back and forth between them. Clint was behind her looking less suspicious but more confused.

“He’s in his chambers,” Thor finally spoke. “What is your business with my brother?”

Yeah, okay, so Thor was definitely taking whatever Loki had told him personally.

“I need to talk to him. Look, I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding.”

Thor scoffed.

“I think not. Loki was quite clear about what transpired between the two of you.” Thunderclouds had moved in across Thor’s face. “I should never have encouraged him down that path and I shall pay my penance. You, however, shall stay away from him.”

Thor turned with a flick of his cape and stomped back into the building, leaving Tony and his teammates staring after him. Clint said something Tony couldn’t understand and the genius just sighed through his gills. He needed to see Loki, needed to figure this all out. Natasha cocked her head to one side and eyed him thoughtfully for a moment before moving closer and placing a hand to his shoulder. She, too, spoke to him in a comforting tone.

Between herself and Clint, they managed to get Tony into the base without a terrible amount of trouble. The hallways were too small for him to fly through without causing massive amounts of property damage so they settled on grabbing a flatbed cart and wheeling him in that way. Dr. Cho greeted them enthusiastically as soon as she lay eyes on Tony. He pasted on a smile for her sake, but he wasn’t sure it was even the slightest bit convincing. She babbled for a minute or so before seeming to catch herself and darted away to grab the device Loki had brought her that simulated the All-Speak. She slipped the cord necklace over her head with a smile and a wink before heading back over.

“There we go, that’s better. How are you, Tony?”

“All healed up. You did great work.”

She looked relieved.

“Oh, good. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been worrying about you. Loki let me know you were doing well, of course, but it’s not the same as seeing it with my own eyes.”

The mention of Loki brought a frown back to Tony’s lips.

“I think I upset him. I came to talk to him about it but he won’t see me.”

Dr. Cho’s eyebrows rose in surprise at that.

“Is that what’s got him in a snit? What happened?”

She waved Natasha and Clint away even as she grabbed a chair and wheeled it over, taking a seat beside him. The assassins exchanged another look before leaving, though Natasha spoke to Dr. Cho again on the way out. Dr. Cho just tutted in response.

“I don’t know. He did something that I didn’t understand and I think I offended him.”

“Well, that certainly does sound like Loki. He’s practically always doing things the rest of us don’t understand.”

Tony glanced away before steeling his nerve and catching her gaze once again.

“What does it mean when one person presses their lips against another person’s lips?”

Dr. Cho blinked in surprise.

“Their lips-“ She cut herself off with a startled little chuckle. “Oh, my! Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that.”

“What is it?”

The smile she gave him was fond.

“It’s called a kiss, Tony.”

“Yeah, okay, but what does it mean? Because I know it means something or he wouldn’t have stormed off.”

She pursed her lips for a moment in thought, fiddling with the ends of her lab coat.

“Well, and please allow me to just say I’d never thought I’d be explaining this, but a kiss is-” she seemed to struggle a moment to find the right words. “It’s a sign of affection. One person kisses another person to show that they like them. In a more than friends sort of way.”

Tony’s pelvic fins fluttered within their metallic shielding. They practically ached with the ghost feeling of being caressed. His tongue darted out to lick his lips.

“So that’s-that’s what Loki was trying to tell me?”

Dr. Cho’s smile reminded him a lot of Pepper’s when Tony had done something she found particularly endearing.

“Surely you have an equivalent gesture among your people.”

Tony nodded numbly.

“We do.” Tony’s heart picked up its pace as his mind whirled. “I need to talk to him.”

“Then let’s go.”

Dr. Cho hopped off her chair to take hold of Tony’s cart and start steering him out of the lab. Panic flared with him.

“Wait! Thor said-“

“Why don’t you let me worry about Thor and you just worry about Loki, alright?”

Tony wasn’t so sure, but he’d learned that human females were a lot like the females he was used to and the soul who came between them and their goals was one to be pitied indeed. The doctor rolled him down the hallways, never breaking stride and not pausing to give a single gawker the time of day. They encountered Thor leaning against the wall outside of what Tony could only assume was Loki’s door. His brooding expression did not bode well.

“I told you to stay away from here.”

“Hey, this wasn’t exactly my idea, okay?”

“Thor,” Dr. Cho broke in, “I’m going to ask you once to let us through.”

The blonde blustered, chin rising and chest puffing out.

“You mean to challenge me? You are no fighter, healer, and I have no quarrel with you. Do not make one.”

“Actually, you made it. You’re standing between me and a medical emergency.”

“What? My brother suffers from no ailment!”

“Of course he does, Thor. It’s called a broken heart. Now let me through so I can fix it or I’m going to call Dr. Foster and tell her you are interfering with my scientific breakthroughs.”

Thor actually turned a bit ashen at the threat.

“You would not.”

Dr. Cho’s eyes glinted dangerously.

“Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”

Thor seemed to be weighing his options.

“It matters not. Loki refuses entry to anyone who asks it.”

“Ah, well, simple solution to that.” Dr. Cho withdrew a keycard from her lab coat and swiped it through the device mounted next to the door. There was a beeping noise and then a green light came on. “Don’t ask.”

She opened the door with a wan smile and pushed Tony through it. He was so caught off guard by the dark, cold interior of the space that he almost missed her closing the door behind him without passing through herself. Almost.

“Wait! I thought you were going to come with me!”

The door didn’t budge. There was, however, movement from deeper in the room.

“So,” Loki’s voice rang out across the darkness, “you refuse to leave me in peace. Has your insult not been enough? Must to come to ridicule me further?”

Tony swallowed convulsively.

“I…I had to come.”

Loki shifted his weight in a moment of silence before striding forward, farther into the small amount of light that filtered through the window. Tony’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It almost looked like the other’s skin was…blue.

“I do not wish to draw this out any further than need be. State your business here so that I may be rid of you.”

Tony flinched. He knew Loki’s gift for words and knew the sharpness of them to be nothing less than intentional. Loki was looking for blood and he knew all of the best places to strike for it, like a fisherman with a spear.

“I wanted to talk. What happened in the water-“

“You made perfectly clear your stance at the time,” Loki cut him off. “You need not make it again.”

“You don’t understand!”

Loki’s lips twisted into a snarl and, yeah, okay, that was definitely not Tony’s imagination. His skin was a deep sapphire color, his eyes a gleaming red. Tony’s jaw dropped.

“I understand _perfectly_. It does not matter what form I take; I am still a monster. Even you could sense it.”

“Loki…I-“ Tony struggled for words, his brain stuttering over this new discovery. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the expanse of blue that was Loki’s chest, the color covered only once his skin disappeared under leather pants. Tony could even just barely make out the raised lines that covered his skin in intricate patterns. “You’re one of the Glacials.”

His reverent murmur could not have caught Loki more off-guard. Loki’s anger warred with his confusion, the battle clear on his face.

“What?”

Tony wasn’t the type who awed easily. Most things were actually even rather unimpressive to him, given his abilities. Loki’s magic had awed him, though, and this…

“I told you of the war with the Golden Ones, where they slaughtered our people when we wished to be left in peace.”

“You made mention, yes.”

“The Glacials were our allies, defended us on land where we could not go as we defended them in the seas. They’d already promised to leave us to ourselves when they first came to our world. They swore not to touch what was ours, but wished to live side by side, to trade, even. The Golden Ones struggled against our united front, and chose to strike at the Glacials upon their home world instead. We wished to help, but we could not. The Golden Ones told us they had been killed. All of them. That if we did not wish for the same fate we would swear fealty and retreat to the depths on our oceans…I-You are-“

He couldn’t find the words, and Loki was staring at him as though seeing him for the first time.

“Odin,” he breathed, and Tony flinched backward.

Even if Tony had not been alive for the war, even if it had been long before his birth, he still knew that name. Every one of his people knew that name.

“He is the commander of _butchers_ ,” Tony rasped. “They _ate_ some of those who weren’t lucky enough to simply be killed or tortured.”

He shuddered, suddenly feeling sick. He knew all of the old stories, could recite the tales by heart. It was what had made his so eager to continue his father’s work in the first place, to make weapons that were bigger and better, to make defenses that could withstand any attack. The Glacials had been able to match the might of the Golden Ones, but Tony’s people had not been so prepared.

“And Laufey?” Loki barely managed to choke out.

“We would not have survived without him and his troops. We will forever owe that debt.” Tony’s mind finally caught back up with the conversation and he furrowed his brows. “What did you mean? That you were a monster?”

Loki took a shaky breath, drawing himself back into a state of composure. He strode closer and Tony shifted on the cart so that Loki could sink down beside him. Loki’s movements were slow, broadcasting his intentions before he made them reality. It was almost as if he expected to be rejected and was giving Tony the opportunity before things got too far.

“I am of Jotun descent, Frost Giants to most. We are considered brutes and savages throughout the realms, little better than beasts.”

His voice was carefully composed, casual and detached in a way that seemed exceedingly fragile. Tony flicked his tail over to rub it gently against Loki’s calf.

“The Glacials were not brutes,” he spoke seriously. “Nor were they savages. Laufey was known to be a great strategist. We still study his methods.” Loki seemed to be attempting to absorb this information so Tony plowed on while he still could. “And I don’t think you’re a monster. If I had known what a kiss was, I would have kissed you back.” He glanced down before looking up at Loki again. “If you would still like to, I would be more than willing to try it again.”

Loki stared at him.

“You did not know what a kiss was?”

Tony shook his head, feeling abashed.

“We do not touch lips among my people. It seems foolish to block the pathway by which you breathe.”

Loki huffed out a laugh, some amusement breaking through.

“That is a fair point, I suppose.”

Tony pulled his mask down, exposing the lower half of his face.

“Would you like to? Try again?”

Loki looked at him for a long moment before sighing and reaching up to cup Tony’s mask, lifting it back to his face. Tony tried not to let the hurt show, but it was unlikely he did a very good job of it.

“Relax,” Loki soothed. “How is it that your people show their affection?”

“Uh, um, fins.” Dammit, Tony! He was usually so much better at this sort of thing. What was wrong with him? “Friends will brush their main tails together while, uh, pelvic fins are more…intimate.”

At least Loki didn’t seem to mind his bumbling lunacy. Green eyes flickered over his frame.

“Is it possible for you to remove the suit?”

Toy scrambled for the emergency release latches, knowing exactly where this was headed but trying not to get his hopes up. He had not _wanted_ this badly in years, maybe ever. Once the armor was removed, Loki scooted just a bit closer, one hand reaching out to trail blue fingers across the seam of Tony’s stomach where flesh met scale. His eyes silently questioned his right to continue.

Tony was pretty sure that if Loki stopped he’d lose his mind. The genius nodded instead, body shivering at the attention. He was sucking water down through his mask in quick little gulps, feeling it cascading from his gills every time. Oh, shit, he was probably ruining Loki’s pants. This was terrible. He was-His mind stuttered to a stop as Loki’s hand brushed along one of his pelvic fins, making Tony drop his head onto Loki’s shoulder as he moaned obscenely. Loki chuckled.

“There now. That’s much closer to the reaction I had been hoping for before.”

His fingers curled around Tony’s fin, cradling the muscles there. His skin felt cool, like the waters of the deep ocean, and Tony shivered. The genius was certain neither of them would be letting go anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, everyone. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner rather than later!


	3. Alternative Ending #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second and final alternate ending!

“You wanted to see me?”

In general, Tony didn’t want to ever be called into SHIELD headquarters. Fury didn’t call him in unless there wasn’t another choice and that never meant good news.

“Perimeter patrols have turned up something I don’t like the looks of,” the Director grumbled. One of his tentacles reached out to bring up an image on the large screen in his office. “I’m sure you can understand why.”

The patrols had clearly stayed far back from the structure, but that made the underwater fortress no less recognizable for what it was. Its lights glowed in the murky darkness of the water, turning it into a beacon for those who dwelled beneath the waves. An emblem stood proudly against its surface in several places, a skull with tentacles curled around it. Tony shuddered at the sight.

“Where is this? My scanners haven’t picked up anything and we both know the leggers don’t have the tech to hide from me.”

Fury scowled, his one eye focusing on the screen instead of on Tony.

“Dewer’s Gorge.”

Tony startled, spinning in the water to stare at Fury in disbelief. Dewer’s Gorge wasn’t outside of his scanners’ range, but the depths of it certainly were.

“You had _patrols_ in the _Gorge?_ Fury, you know what’s down ther-“

“Of course I know,” the Director snapped. “Which is exactly why I wanted it monitored. I’m not going to risk the safety of everyone in this city.”

“My scanners-“

“Would not have picked anything up before it was too late.”

Tony scowled.

“And did you consider the fact that your patrols might just draw attention to us?”

Not even from this base or whatever that had popped up. Tony had much _bigger_ things to worry about.

“I did what needed to be done. My Guardians are the best, Stark. They knew what they were doing and it’s a damn good thing they were out there. Who knows when we might have found out about this base if they weren’t looking in that area. You were the last of us to have contact with the leggers.”

Tony bared his teeth.

“I didn’t tell them anything.”

“Of course not. You’re not an idiot and you’re paranoid enough to make _me_ nervous. You’d never put the city in danger if you could help it.” Tony was blinking at him in astonishment but Fury just kept right on talking. “What I want to know is if you’ve seen the emblem before.”

“I, uh, no. No, I’ve never seen it. I don’t think the leggers I met would have known these.”

A skull on top of tentacles sent a pretty clear message. Whoever these leggers were, they weren’t friendlies.

“But they were the Guardians of the leggers, yes? You mentioned in your report that they served some sort of enforcement purpose.”

“They called themselves the Avengers, not Guardians, but I think the feeling was the same. We didn’t talk about it much. They didn’t ask about my culture and I didn’t ask about theirs.”

Fury’s tentacles revealed his irritation at the lack of gathered information, but Tony knew he cared more about the leggers not finding out any information either.

“According to your rapport, they were also proficient at underwater combat.”

Tony’s tail lashed back and forth as he took a moment to just stare at Fury, trying to piece together where he was going with all this.

“A few of them were,” he admitted. “How about you just tell me what you’re after and we stop swimming around the point of all this.”

Fury scowled, his tentacles swirling restlessly. Tony had never seen him so irritated before.

“Our analysis of their weapons systems and numbers are…not favorable.” He pressed a few buttons and a new image emerged on the screen. It showed a number of smaller vessels exiting the base. “They’ve already begun exploring the area directly around the base. It’ll only be a matter of time before they spread out further. Maybe they come in this direction…”

Tony’s spines shuddered as he picked up Fury’s train of thought.

“Maybe they go deeper into the Gorge and disturb something that shouldn’t be disturbed.”                         

Fury nodded gravely.

“We need to stop them before it can reach that point and we could use all the info we can get to make that happen.”

It took a moment for what Fury was saying to click but then Tony was gaping at him.

“You want me to contact them again and get in touch…”

“We’ll send a team with you to keep you safe, of course, but you’ve already established contact once already. You have a report with the leggers.”

Tony’s mind reeled at the possibilities.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

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..

…

..

.

With five guards on his tail, there’s no way Tony could just jump in the suit and fly to the Avengers headquarters. It took a solid month for him to design and build a transport that would carry all of them. He was sure Fury’d been angling for each of the guards to get their own Iron Scales armor, but Tony was having none of that. The War Hammer and Iron Thresher armors were plenty enough. If anyone was going to get another armor, it’d be Pepper, and Tony hadn’t managed to quite figure out how to compensate for her expanding proportions without compromising the integrity of the armor.

Within that month, one of the patrols Fury had still monitoring the base was attacked. There were no casualties, but it certainly made clear the intentions of the leggers within the facility. It was only a matter of time before they grew bolder and managed to track a patrol back to the city. Even more disconcerting, was the fact that the leggers had been attempting to tranquilize the patrol instead of killing them. In Tony’s experience, being taken alive was generally far worse a fate.

As soon as the transport was complete, Tony outfitted each of his guards with a breathing apparatus. Their movements would be extremely hampered outside of the water, limiting their combat capabilities. If the Avengers decided they weren’t friendly, the weapons attached to the transport as well as Tony’s Iron Thresher armor would be all that kept them safe. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. The leggers among the Avengers had been kind to him. Tony wanted to believe they would help.

Tony sent a message ahead of them over the radio, finding the closest receiver to the Avengers facility Rhodey had saved him from and hoping for the best. It would really suck if this whole mission ended prematurely with them being shot out of the air simply because they were an unknown threat. Tony was pretty sure Loki wouldn’t appreciate that ending, either.

The thought of seeing Loki again sent little shivers of excitement through Tony’s fins and spines. It’d been months now and Tony had resigned himself to never seeing the legger again. Loki wasn’t human, Tony knew, but he was still a legger of some kind. There was no way they could even remain in contact. Now, though, if Loki and the other Avengers helped defeat this new foe, that might all change. There might actually be a chance of prolonged contact.

Luckily, their transport didn’t get shot down at all. There was definitely a certain amount of trepidation that accompanied their landing, but that was only to be expected. Tony wore his Iron Thresher armor and was the first to leave the transport. The others weren’t armored as he was. He refused to put them in danger.

Agents flanked the ship, weapons at the ready but not held threateningly. Tony recognized the actual Avengers team front and center. Only Clint was missing and Tony was sure it was so he could take up a more tactical position further away. Tony waggled his fingers at them as he disengaged his helmet.

“This is quite the welcome. I’m impressed.”

Green eyes danced with amusement as Loki attempted to hide a grin.

“We didn’t think you were coming back. What happened to you not being allowed to make contact?”

Tony grinned right back. It certainly seemed like the level of friendliness hadn’t changed while he was away.

“Times change. We have to change with them.”

Immediately Loki frowned, and Tony had to admit he was impressed by how easily the other was able to pick up on context.

“What’s happened?”

Tony glanced at the other Avengers. He knew very well that Loki was not in charge of the Avengers, but he would go a long way in convincing the others to help if Tony couldn’t do it on his own. He withdrew a tablet and turned it on, bringing up a picture of the base and passing it over.

“This popped up not far from our settlement. We might need some help.”

Loki’s expression twisted upon catching sight of the image.

“HYDRA.”

The reaction among the other Avengers was instant, even though Thor was the only one among them who could follow Loki and Tony’s conversation. Captain Rogers’ expression darkened considerably and he spoke in a voice that screamed command even if Tony couldn’t understand his words. Loki nodded sharply in agreement before replying directly to him.

“They have established a base not far from the city where Tony dwells,” he explained, passing over the tablet for the Captain to see. “This will only bring trouble, whatever their intentions.”

“They’ve already attacked several of our border patrols,” Tony supplied. “They aim to capture, not to kill.”

Loki gave a minute twitch.

“I have found that is often worse than those who aim to kill. You can be assured we will help you, but what of your people? Will they be comfortable with us stepping in?”

Tony grinned, showing off his razor sharp teeth.

“Fury was the one who sent me. He wants to approve of you himself, but he’s always had a firm grasp of the idea that desperate times call for desperate measures. He already has a rendezvous point in mind. If you pass muster, you’ll be allowed access to our city. No legger has ever had that before.”

“It shall be a true honor, then. We will need time to prepare.” Loki glanced at the Captain. “Perhaps a day? There will be many hoops for us to jump through on our end to take on such a task, I’m afraid.”

Rogers nodded in confirmation and Tony felt relief rush through him. His people would be safe.

“Thank you,” he said with feeling.

Loki only smiled softly at him.

“There is no need to thank us. We would do it in a heartbeat.”

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..

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Fury grudgingly accepted the Avengers, as Tony knew he would, and they were led back to the city. There was a lot of gawking involved from both sides. The Avengers seemed stunned by the cleverly hidden city while Tony’s own people were torn between fascination and fear. Outside of the guardians and Tony, none of them had seen a legger since the great war. He took particular notice that there wasn’t a single child sighted between the entrance of the city and the Guardian’s Hall. Tony swam between Loki and Rhodey as they headed for a briefing room. He hoped he’d get a chance to introduce them to each other.

“Alright, let’s get this over with. What intel can you give us about HYDRA?”

Good ol’ Fury, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

“They’re ruthless,” Thor rumbled. “We have faced them many times and they are no threat to be trifled with. Even when we think we have finally rid ourselves of them, they always seem to show back up.”

Loki huffed into his air mask before taking over the explanation.

“They’re a group of humans who span the globe and have threatened this world for a great many years. They have plenty of funding and even more influence. HYDRA excels at hiding, so I would not be surprised to find they did not know your settlement was here before they built their newest base. They have likely turned their attention towards your kind only now that they are aware of you.”

Fury scowled but nodded.

“Better this direction than the other,” he muttered. “Then you believe it is simply to hide that they have come here?”

Loki tipped his head a bit as he considered the question.

“It is possible, but there is no way to tell for sure until we have some captives to interrogate. They may have come here with a specific purpose in mind. I know not.”

“Either way, I want them gone. Let’s talk strategy of attack.”

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HYDRA saw them coming. They were probably monitoring the electrical levels in the water around the base. At least, that’s how Tony would have done it. It was one of the many ways he monitored the area around the city. However they did it, it meant that they were ready for the attack. The first volley of shots was stopped by Loki’s magic and it came as a sign for all groups to attack.

Tony and Rhodey led the attack with Thor and Loki. They would be the ones to open up the sides of the base and allow the others access. Once the place was flooded, it would be easy for the rest of Tony’s fellows to get in there and fight too. Barton was back a little ways away with another group, their job being to take out the base’s exterior weapons. More groups were tasked with capturing any vessels in which HYDRA members attempted to escape. Natasha was on her own, sneaking into the base early on to start shutting things down from the inside. Tony just hoped things reached the point that Bruce’s alter-ego had to get involved. He was very curious to meet the Hulk.

There was an explosion of air with the first puncture and from there it was easy to rip the base apart. HYDRA assets scrambled but were eventually taken in. Tony felt bad about the ones who drowned or were killed in combat but he didn’t let himself dwell on it. He would do whatever it took in order to protect his own. With the help of the Avengers, they were even able to capture quite a few of the HYDRA agents. They would go back to the Avengers headquarters for interrogation, which had been a bit of a bone of contention. Fury had finally relented, though, in the face of it being rather inconvenient to interrogate leggers under water.

“You will be kept fully informed, I assure you,” Loki said as they prepared to depart. Tony would be going with them for delivery, but then he’d have to come right back. There was plenty to be done examining the wreckage of the HYDRA compound. “I will happily act as a go between, if you so wish it. Perhaps Tony would be willing to meet from time to time and we could share information.”

Green eyes slid over to the genius as a small grin played across Loki’s face. Tony, of course, couldn’t resist smiling back.

“I’d like that.”

Fury made a sound of exasperation.

“You didn’t include this in your report, Stark. You better continue not to include it. I don’t want to read anything about the two of you touching fins. Do I make myself clear?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap, folks!


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